Rice stands by early Benghazi statements

By Michael A. MemoliTribune Washington Bureau(MCT)

Monday

Feb 24, 2014 at 11:07 AMFeb 24, 2014 at 11:28 AM

WASHINGTON — National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Sunday defended statements she made during a round of 2012 TV appearances about the attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, saying there was never an attempt to mislead the public.

WASHINGTON — National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Sunday defended statements she made during a round of 2012 TV appearances about the attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, saying there was never an attempt to mislead the public.

Her appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” was Rice’s first appearance on a network Sunday show since September 2012, days after the attack in Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Her adherence to administration talking points at the time — that the attack appeared to be a “spontaneous” response to protests in Egypt over an offensive YouTube video — were later cast into doubt and continue to be a source of debate. Some accused the administration of attempting downplay the terrorist involvement in the attack.

At the time, President Barack Obama and other administration officials defended Rice, who was then the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But blowback from her appearances probably cost her an appointment as secretary of state in Obama’s second term.

Rice on Sunday defended her remarks, saying she shared “the best information that we had at the time.”

“The information I provided — which I explained to you was what we had at the moment, it could change, I commented that this was based on what we knew on that morning — was provided to me and my colleagues and indeed to Congress by the intelligence community,” she said. “That’s been well-validated in many different ways since. And that information turned out in some respects not to be 100 percent correct. But the notion that somehow I or anybody else in the administration misled the American people is patently false, and I think that’s been amply demonstrated.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the leading critics of the administration’s handling of Benghazi, laughed when shown Rice’s comments during his appearance on CBS’ “Face The Nation.”

“I’m almost speechless,” he said. “The information was totally misleading, totally false. And for Susan Rice to say such a thing, I think, is a little embarrassing to tell you the truth.”

Meanwhile, speaking about the turmoil in Ukraine, Rice rejected the idea that Washington and Moscow were nearing a return to Cold War-style tensions, with the violence in Kiev the latest flash point between the nations.

She said Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree that Ukraine should remain “unified, whole, independent,” and that both leaders are eager to see the implementation of a recent agreement between the government of President Viktor Yanukovich and Ukraine’s pro-European opposition.

Yanukovich “has gone” and is “not leading at the present,” Rice said when asked if the president should step down.

“We are going to have a unity government,” she said. “We are going to have near-term elections. We are going to have constitutional reform. And that reflects the will of the Ukrainian people and the interests of the United States and Europe.”

But she cautioned Russia against moving militarily to reinstate the deposed president. “That would be a grave mistake,” she said.

Rice said Obama has been “exceedingly pragmatic” in his dealings with Russia, emphasizing the need for the U.S. to cooperate with Russia where possible on issues such as Afghanistan, while speaking out on issues like Syria and human rights where they disagree.

“The president is very plain and very forceful in his dealings with Putin,” she said. “But it is not necessary, nor is it in our interests, to return to a Cold War construct which is long out of date and doesn’t reflect the realities of the 21st century.”

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